Year 0: The First Days

"I remember when the sky turned red. When the ground shook for three days straight. When the world ended and didn't have the decency to kill us all at once." -Elder Miriam, Nomad Collective

Hour-by-hour, day-by-day account of civilization's collapse. From detonation to faction formation.

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Day 0: The Detonation

Hour 0 (14:32 UTC)

Time	Event
14:32:00	ENGINE BREACH: Arctic ice shelf vaporizes. 182 souls consumed. Void opens
14:32:03	Electromagnetic pulse expands at light speed. Global electronics fail
14:32:45	Magnitude 9.4 earthquake. 214 volcanoes erupt simultaneously
14:45	Crimson Aurora manifests globally. Witnesses report "the sky screaming"

Hours 1-6 (15:00-20:00 UTC)

15:30 - First Void incursion (Arctic research stations attacked)
16:00 - Global power grid cascade failure (94% blackout)
17:00 - Ashveil Caldera erupts (80,000 Cinder Tribes killed, 15,000 goblinoids survive)
18:00 - 200-foot tsunami hits Alaska (45,000 dead)
20:00 - Ash cloud reaches stratosphere (Ashfall Winter begins)

Hours 7-24

22:00 - Mass riots, looting, fires in cities worldwide
Midnight - Last functioning radio relay stations go dark. Radio networks completely offline
02:00 - Hospital failures (life support dies, 200,000 dead)
06:00 (Dawn, Day 1) - Survivors emerge. Highways gridlocked with abandoned cars

Casualties Day 0: 1.2 billion dead

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Days 1-3: The Die-Off

Day 1 - Exposure Deaths

Morning: Global temperature drops 5°C (ash blocking sun). 800,000 freeze to death
Afternoon: Clean water scarcity critical. Dysentery outbreaks
Evening: First Void storms detected. Crimson lightning strikes

Casualties Day 1: 1.8 billion (cumulative: 3.0 billion)

Day 2 - Violence Erupts

Grocery stores emptied by looters
Armed confrontations over food/water
Police/military unable to maintain order
Void-corrupted animals appear in cities

Casualties Day 2: 1.2 billion (cumulative: 4.2 billion)

Day 3 - Infrastructure Collapse

Uncontrolled fires spread (major cities 40-60% burned)
Chemical plants explode
14 nuclear reactors begin meltdowns
"Shamblers" spotted (Void-mutated humans)

Casualties Day 3: 900 million (cumulative: 5.1 billion)

"By Day 3, we understood: This wasn't temporary. This was the end. The world we knew was gone, and we were living in its corpse."

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Days 4-7: Finding Shelter

Survivor Strategies

Strategy	Description	Survival Rate
Underground	Subway tunnels, basements, bunkers	Highest (safest from Void/violence)
Rural	Farms, isolated cabins	High (food access, self-sufficient)
Fortified	Barricaded buildings	Medium (temporary safety)
Urban	Remained in cities	5% (density, no infrastructure)

Day 6 - The First Soul-Binding

Location: Titan Industries testing facility, former Colorado
14:00 - Dr. Marcus Karathis binds deceased wife's soul to industrial exoskeleton
Result: First Casket activated. Founding moment of the Ossuarium

Casualties Day 4-7: 1.6 billion (cumulative: 6.7 billion)
89% of humanity dead in first week

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Week 2-4: Stabilization

Week 2 (Day 8-14)

Scavenging Phase: Survivors find clean water, food stores, weapons
Void Activity Increases: Abominations appear daily
Proto-Factions Form: Religious survivors (future Church), mining communities (future Dwarves), refugee caravans (future Nomads)

Week 3 (Day 15-21)

Warlord Era Begins: Strongest survivors claim territory
Resource Wars: Battles over fuel, food, weapons, medicine
Bonelord Karath's Expansion: Binds 23 more corpses. First Casket platoon (24 units)

Week 4 (Day 22-30)

Ashfall Winter Intensifies: Temperature now -10°C below pre-Sundering
Agricultural Collapse: 95% of crops fail
Tribal Organization: Groups of 10-500 form for survival

Survivor Count (Day 30): ~750 million

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Months 2-12: The Long Winter

Month 2 - Starvation

Scavenged food running out. No farms (ash covers fields, sunlight blocked). Hunting difficult. Desperate measures: cannibalism widespread, especially in cities.

Months 3-5 - Adaptation

Fire Worship: Crucible Packs (goblinoids) survive in volcanic lava tubes
Underground Living: Proto-Dwarves thrive in deep shelters
Nomadic Lifestyle: Proto-Nomads keep moving, scavenge new areas
Faith: Proto-Church provides hope and social cohesion

Day 90 - Bonelord Karath's Ossuarium Founded
First "Soul Harvesting" facility established. Offers deal: "Sign contract, your family eats. You die, your soul powers Casket." 1,200 desperate survivors sign (first voluntary contracts).

Month 7-8 - The Thaw

Volcanic ash begins settling from atmosphere. Sunlight increases (still dim). Temperature rises slightly (-5°C below pre-Sundering). First crops planted (80% fail, 20% succeed).

Months 9-10 - Faction Coalescence

Faction	Leader	Members (Day 287)
Church of Absolution	Grand Inquisitor Aldric	12,000
Forge-Guilds	Forgemaster Durak	8,000
The Ossuarium	Bonelord Karath	3,500 Caskets + 15,000 contract-holders
Nomad Collective	Warlord Kess	20,000

Day 287 - First Inter-Faction Trade: Dwarves trade tools for Church food. Nomads trade scavenged fuel for Ossuarium protection. Economy reborn (barter, not currency).

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Year 0 Ends (Day 365)

Metric	Before Sundering	After Year 0
Population	7.5 billion	~680 million (91% dead)
Governments	195 nations	0 (all collapsed)
Electricity	Global coverage	<1% (scattered generators)
Technology	Digital age	Medieval + Caskets
Society	Unified civilization	Splintered factions

"In one year, we went from the pinnacle of human achievement to fighting over scraps in the ruins. The fall wasn't gradual. It was instant. Brutal. Complete."

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